


The Adventures of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger

by RefyxzHarmony



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:22:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28732638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RefyxzHarmony/pseuds/RefyxzHarmony
Summary: We all know that Harry met the Weasleys at the barrier between Platform Nine and Ten. But what if, by a tiny twist of fate, something happened a moment prior and he met someone else instead? Pure H/HR - Fluff Galore - Full series rewrite.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Comments: 44
Kudos: 177





	1. Rewrite The Stars

**Author's Note:**

> A/N
> 
> Temporary edit 28/2/2021:
> 
> There has been recent concern about the lack of chapters for the past month and the fact that I left the HMS discord recently. 
> 
> A month ago, my partner got hospitalised due to Covid-19, which was the leading cause of the delay between chapter 2 and 3. It seemed like she would make a speedy recovery, and everything was looking positive until her body started to fail her, and it all went south from there. 
> 
> Unfortunately, a few days later, she passed away. 
> 
> That day I lost a partner, a childhood friend, a soulmate. Someone who had been by my side from the very start, through thick and skin. Someone who always held my hand when it got too hard, a shoulder to lean on when I needed it, someone, who was just there. Always. 
> 
> We planned this story almost exactly eight months ago from the moment I am writing this update. I hardly can believe it myself that it has been this long already. She was incredibly passionate about the Harmony fandom and was the main reason I got into it myself nearly a decade ago. 
> 
> The main reason why I am writing this update is that I want to thank every single one person who liked, favourited or reviewed this story; I can’t express in words how much it means to me, how much it meant to her. During her stay at the hospital, it never failed to make her smile when she got a notification from one of you. Thank you.
> 
> The second reason why I write this is to let you know that I am not abandoning this story. Together, we have written almost 300 000 words, and year 1-3 is more or less completed but unedited. 
> 
> This story was her idea from the very start after watching the ‘Rewrite the Stars’ HHR music video on youtube and got the premise from there. As the months progressed, the same idea got more real, and we created something beautiful. 
> 
> I just need some time for myself, to grieve, to reflect and to heal. When I'm ready, I will come back, and I will finish what we started eight months ago because I owe it to her as much as I owe it to myself.
> 
> I love you all.
> 
> With all the love,
> 
> RefyxzHarmony.

Chapter 1 - Rewrite The Stars.

Harry looked dismayed at his crinkled ticket, Platform Nine and Three Quarters. No matter how much he stared between platform nine and ten, there was no such thing as Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

He was lost at what he should do, trying to somehow get back to Privet Drive was out of the question, he doubted that his relatives would welcome him with open arms, considering how eager they seemed to dump him here and drive away.

He had asked a passing guard if he knew anything about Hogwarts; not only did he not know anything, he seemed to think Harry was mental.

Suddenly a group of people passed just behind him, and he caught a few words of what they were saying.

"- packed with Muggles, of course -"

Harry swung around. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. Each of them was pushing a trunk like his own - and they had an owl.

Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying.

"Now, what's the platform number?" said the boy's mother.

"Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand. "Mum, can't I go..."

"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first."

Harry moved slightly to the left to get a better view, and in doing so, a passerby walked straight into him from behind, causing Harry to stumble to the ground.

"Watch it!" someone huffed angrily and stalked away, muttering something that sounded like "Bloody kids."

Harry felt like he was at his breaking point, a day that was supposed to be a liberation had so far turned into a nightmare. Nothing was going the way it was supposed to.

Hedwig hooted loudly in the background, attracting even more attention to them.

A rush of footsteps approached him from behind, and he had no energy left to get out of the way. So he waited for them to pass or to step on him, it was whatever.

To his surprise, someone put a hand under his arm and very carefully picked him up from the ground till he could stand comfortably on his own, "Here you go." Someone said kindly, "Are you alright?"

Harry looked up to see a man smiling with concern at Harry with a woman next to him, which he presumed were his wife.

"Oh dear," said the woman with concerned eyes before Harry could say anything, she took hold of both of his hands and turned them face up. The skin had been nastily scraped off when he used his hands to soften the fall.

She wrinkled her nose in sympathy, "Ouch." She said and started to search through her handbag; looking for something, "Ah, here we go." she took out a what seemed a skin moisturizer.

"Hands out." She said in a bossy tone; he did so without arguing.

She bent down, thus revealing someone who had somehow managed to remain completely invisible up to this point; a girl who seemed to be close in his age. The woman applied the cream gently over the scraped skin until there was an even layer over it.

"Now let it rest, and your skin should hopefully be good as new by tomorrow." She said with a friendly smile.

Harry looked surprisingly at his hands, and the pain had already dulled as the cool cream set to work, "T-thank you, ma'am."

The woman waved his gratitude away with a slight frown, "None of that ma'am stuff, you make me feel old." she laid a hand on her daughter's shoulder, who shied away when Harry looked at her.

"Forgive my manners," The man suddenly said, "I haven't even introduced us! My name is Jim Granger, and this is my wife Miriam, and this is my," he pointed to his daughter with a smile of a proud father, "daughter, Hermione."

Hermione gave him a small polite smile and lifted her hand slightly in greeting. He noticed that she and her mother shared the same long frizzy hair that seemed to have its own life.

Hermione desperately tugged on her mother's jacket, who leaned down, and Hermione whispered something in her ear.

"Oh dear," The mother said and turned to look at the big clock that hung by the entrance, "Jim, if she is going to have a chance to catch that train then we really need to get going," she said hurriedly.

Jim threw Harry an apologetic smile, "It was nice meeting you; take care of yourself now."

Harry looked at the clock and saw that there were only five minutes left until the train would leave for Hogwarts. He looked desperately for the family he had spied on earlier, and he could feel the panic starting to overwhelm him when he couldn't find the sea of heads with flaming red hair that had stuck out like a sore thumb a few minutes prior.

Then something hit him.

The guard earlier had told him that there was no train leaving this station at eleven o'clock, which could only mean one thing.

Hermione had to be a witch, and she was going to Hogwarts, which meant they were the key to find the elusive Platform nine and three quarters.

"Wait!" Harry nearly shouted, flushing a little when a passerby looked at him with an agitated look. He ran up to them, and before they could protest, he practically shoved the ticket into Jim's hand.

Jim raised his brows as he accepted at the outstretched piece of paper, "Do you know how to get to this platform?" Harry asked with hope.

Jim quickly looked around them, "You're going to Hogwarts too?"

Harry nodded quickly.

Jim turned to his wife with a raised eyebrow, and she nodded. He looked back at the clock, "Alright, we're going to cut this very close, grab your cart and let's go."

Harry didn't have to be told twice and followed the Grangers with a brisk pace. They were heading to the spot where the other family was. They were walking straight towards the barrier between platform nine and ten, and he threw a nervous glance at Jim, who somehow didn't seem nervous at all.

Harry hesitated only just for a moment when they were just a few metres away, and Miriam gently laid a hand on his back and pushed him forward, preventing him from stopping. The barrier was coming nearer and nearer, Hermione in front of him walked confidently, but that didn't calm him down at all.

They were past the point of stopping, and he closed his eyes ready for the crash when they were just a foot away, he kept walking and walking... and the crash never came.

He hesitantly opened one eye only to find himself somewhere else entirely. A scarlet engine train was waiting in front of him, but he didn't have time to marvel at its beauty because Miriam was still pushing him firmly forward.

Jim quickly loaded the trunks onto the train while Miriam held Harry and Hermione back, "Hermione," she said quickly, "Could you make sure that he finds a seat?"

Hermione eyed him, and he was sure that she would protest, but she nodded to her mother.

Miriam smiled proudly at her daughter and turned to Harry, "You take care of yourself now, OK? And take care of those hands."

Harry nodded, "Thank you, ma'am, for your help. And you sir," he added when Jim walked to stand by his wife.

"None of that I said." Miriam said, frowning, "You make me feel so old. Call me Miriam, and my husband, Jim."

The train whistled, and Miriam gave Hermione a quick hug before ushering them over the train's threshold. The train lurched forward, and her parents slowly followed the train, waving at them until the platform ended and they at last faded out in the distance.

Hermione tapped her fingers against the handle of her trunk, "So um, you wanna find a seat?" she said as she tucked a strand of hair to behind her ear.

Harry nodded, and they set off to find an empty compartment, weaving through students. They passed a crowd that was surrounding a boy with dreadlocks, "Give us a look, Lee, go on." and as they crossed to the next carriage, they heard yells and shrieks coming from the crowd behind them.

It started to look like a hopeless task since every single compartment they had looked inside, was packed with people. They arrived at the last one at the very end of the train, and to their surprise; it was empty.

"You need help with that trunk?" Harry asked politely when he saw she struggled to get it up on her seat.

He could see that she was about to turn him down before changing her mind at the last second, she nodded and stepped away slightly to give him more room.

Harry rubbed his hands together; he saw Jim lifting it onto the train effortlessly so there shouldn't be any problem. He grabbed the handle and pulled, and he realised there was going to be a problem.

The trunk refused to budge from the ground.

With a huffed breath, he had to strain every muscle in his body to lift it off the ground and somehow without breaking his back; he miraculously managed to heave it up on to the seat.

"Christ." Harry panted, "I'm sorry, but do you collect rocks or something?"

Hermione blushed, "No, it's my books."

"Books?" Harry panted with a grimace while holding his hand over his heart, wondering if he had a heart attack after that exercise, "You like to read?"

Hermione nodded eagerly, her hair bobbing up and down.

While still heavy, Harry lifted his own trunk that was considerably lighter and less prone to kill you. How Jim managed to lift these without breaking a sweat he didn't know.

"I like to read too," Harry said as he slumped into his seat rather ungracefully, wiping off sweat from his brow with his sleeve.

That seemed to brighten Hermione up, "Oh?"

Harry smiled and nodded, he opened his trunk and rummaged through until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a copy of Hogwarts: A History and held it so she could see, "This one is my favourite."

The first genuine smile broke out on her face, "Mine too!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.

Harry grinned and thought for a moment before asking, "Did you know that Hogwarts is hidden to Muggles-"

"-because If a Muggle looks at it, they see an old ruin with a sign saying: "Danger, do not enter, unsafe." Hermione finished with a grin of her own and sat down on her seat, opposite to his. She narrowed her eyes a little as she swung her legs back and forth, "Did you know that Wizards and Witches cannot Apparate-"

"-Or Disapparate to, or from within, Hogwarts." Harry finished with a laugh, and Hermione giggled. She looked heavenward and tapped her chin as she tried to come up with something to outsmart him with.

Little did she know that he had read the book, front and back several times. Little did he know, she had done the same.

Hermione looked at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes, thinking that she had him cornered "In 1792-"

"-A cockatrice went loose during one of the Triwizard Tournament tasks, the heads of the three schools, including one from Hogwarts, were injured by the deadly creature," Harry repeated perfectly word by word from the book.

Hermione looked at him with a slightly parted mouth, and he smiled triumphantly back at her. She crossed her arms "In 18-"

"Nu-uh," Harry said, shaking his head, "My turn!"

Hermione huffed and motioned for him to continue.

"Muggle technology-"

"-such as mobile phones and laptops, cannot be used within the grounds of Hogwarts," Hermione said confidently, nodding to each word as she read the book in her mind and then lifted a brow that seemed to say, That's all you got?

Harry leaned forward and rested his chin on his clasped hands, "Boys cannot-"

"-Enter girl's dormitories; if they try to enter the stairs turn into a slide."

Harry laughed and threw up his hands in defeat, "Ok, it seems that you have read it thoroughly as well."

Hermione ducked her head and muttered something that he couldn't catch, "I'm sorry?"

She looked up and smiled sheepishly, "I've read it through four times."

Harry held up his hand, showing three fingers with an embarrassed smile of his own. Hermione's brows shot up in surprise before ducking her head again and smiling at her lap.

"You never told me your name." She said quietly after a few minutes of silence.

It had been intentional. From his visit to Diagon Alley, he had learned a valuable lesson to be careful to whom he says his name to.

He was in a bit of a pinch because he liked her, and they seemed to get along well so far, but ultimately, he decided the truth was the best course of action, "Harry Potter."

Hermione parted her mouth slightly, exposing her somewhat large front teeth. With a dejected sigh, Harry lifted his fringe.

Her eyes widened, "Y-You're Harry Potter." she slowly repeated.

"Yeah..." Harry said, looking at his lap, feeling a bit disappointed that she reacted the way he expected her to.

"I know all about you!" Hermione exclaimed gleefully, "Of course, I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"am I?" Harry said, feeling dazed at knowing people had written things about him, things that he didn't know himself.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione, "What is it?" she asked in a small voice when he didn't respond.

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "It feels strange, people knowing stuff about me that I don't even know myself."

Hermione frowned in thought before her expression softened, "Yeah, I can see how that could feel a bit weird."

Harry snorted, "That would be an understatement." and then told her what happened at the Leaky Cauldron.

Hermione grimaced and then smiled a bit sheepishly, "I'm sorry, I realise that I did act a little like those who you encountered."

Harry gave her a half-hearted shrug and smiled, "It's fine."

It was quiet for a few minutes before Hermione opened her trunk and pulled out a plastic bag containing two sandwiches, she bit her lip and looked at him, "You want to share?"

Now it was Harry's turn to look at her with an open mouth; no one had offered him food before! At least not willingly. He flushed a little when he realised he still hadn't responded, "If you're sure..." he left it hanging, giving her a choice to decline the offer still.

She didn't hesitate and pulled out the sandwiches, she moved over to him and offered him one. Instead of moving back to her seat, she sat next to him.

For the next few minutes, neither of them said a word. Harry found himself staring at Hermione at times, and without realising; she was doing the same when he wasn't looking. They, at last, caught each other's eyes and she smiled widely at him, and he couldn't help but reciprocate the smile.

"You have a nice smile," Harry blurted, his eyes widened when he realised what he just had said and promptly took a bite out of his sandwich with a bit more force than he had intended.

When a few seconds had passed without a response, he risked a glance. He was sure that she was staring at him mortified and about to bolt, but instead, he found her looking at her half-eaten sandwich with a bright smile, and her cheeks were rosy.

"You have pretty eyes," she said so quietly, that he barely heard her.

"T-thanks," Harry said awkwardly, why did it all of sudden become so hot in here?

There was another round of silence before Hermione broke it, "So what house do you want to be in?"

Whichever House you are in was the first thing that popped up in his head. Harry cleared his throat and ignored the fact that his cheeks were getting increasingly hotter, "I-I don't know." he said in a slightly cracked voice and took another bite out of his sandwich to have something to do.

Hermione didn't seem to pay any mind to his state of discomfort and happily babbled on, "I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Hufflepuff does not seem to fit me although-"

Harry frowned in concentration as he tried fervently to keep up with the speed of the words that were pouring out of her mouth. Oh my god, how is it possible for anyone to speak that fast?

"- And it would certainly not do if I would get sorted into Slytherin, because given their reputation-"

Harry had completely forgotten whatever it was left of his sandwich as he listened to the girl next to him get into a whole rant about Slytherin. Does she ever get out of breath?

Hermione quieted and pondered for a moment, racking her brain before turning to him with an expression that told him that she was interested in his opinion.

Harry nodded quickly and confidently, "Yes, I agree." Although he wasn't entirely sure what he agreed to, it seemed to work since Hermione brightened with a satisfied smile and finished her sandwich.

Shortly after, they fell into a long-winded conversation about the differences between their introduction into the magical world. Hermione explained how the Deputy Headmistress Professor McGonagall had knocked on their door the day after her eleventh birthday with a letter of acceptance.

"I had a few cases of accidental magic happen during my childhood, so my parents weren't overly shocked when McGonagall told them I was a witch." Hermione explained and then started giggling, "My dad shrieked when she turned our coffee table into a living pig."

Harry chuckled at the image and then told her his side of things. Hermione frowned when he said that Hagrid never told or showed him how to get into platform nine and three quarters.

"Now it makes sense," Hermione said when he was done talking, "Why you looked so lost when we found you. I can't believe how he could forget such an important detail!"

She then explained how McGonagall had personally shown the Grangers which barrier to walk through, and Harry couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed at the gentle giant.

The discussion continued and spun from topic to topic. He was reluctant to share anything of his childhood with the Dursleys; he was surprised that she also seemed not to keen to reveal anything about her childhood either, so they both dropped the subject rather quickly.

"No way, really?" Hermione gasped when he mentioned about the dragon that was supposed to inhabit the lower levels in Gringotts, "A dragon? Like, an actual dragon?"

An older witch with a kind smile knocked on their door before Harry could respond. The older witch held a trolley filled to the brim with all different sorts of colourful candies. Harry and Hermione eagerly started picking out whatever caught their interest, and before Hermione had a chance to protest, Harry paid for both of them.

She wanted to pay him back, but he refused, arguing that she had shared her sandwiches with him and that it was only fair for him to give something back.

Hermione turned her eyes down and smiled sweetly, "Thank you."

Harry returned to his seat, and Hermione sat next to him again, she looked guiltily at the bag placed on her knees.

Harry tilted his head, "What is it?"

Hermione bit her lip slightly, "My parents are dentists. I'm not usually allowed to eat sweets, or at least, not this large amount."

Harry looked warily at the Chocolate Frogs he bought before turning to Hermione with a mischievous grin, "Neither am I."

He could see in her eyes that she was in a fierce debate with herself before her shoulders slumped, "You're a bad influence on me." she said flatly before unwrapping a piece of candy.

Harry laughed and unwrapped one of the chocolate frogs, which suddenly jumped away from him.

"They're not really frogs, are they?" Hermione said worriedly as the frog jumped around in their compartment. Hedwig hooted, apparently seeing it as potential prey.

"I... don't think so," Harry said, unsure and looked at the card that followed with it. It had a picture of Albus Dumbledore, a different one in Hogwarts: A History.

Hermione popped in a bright yellow candy in her mouth before shifting closer to him and peered over his shoulder, "Albus Dumbledore," she said and continued, "Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel."

Harry turned the card over when she was finished, and to his astonishment, Dumbledore's portrait had disappeared.

"That's strange," Hermione said as she put another piece of candy in her mouth.

Harry nodded and shook the card little to see if that would make him come back. He gave a little shrug when he didn't and put the card away.

They were idly chatting as they slowly worked through their stack of candy. Harry had bought a box of colourful beans, and he had a nasty surprise when the first one he tried tasted like earwax. It must have shown on his face because Hermione was struggling to contain her laughter.

Harry dared her to eat one, and it took some convincing before she dared to put one in her mouth. He watched her expression closely, but to his disappointment, she seemed to enjoy it.

"Raspberry," She said with a smug smile, and she took the box of beans from his hands and held it in front of him, shaking it a little to give him the idea, her eyes had a challenging glint to them. They spent the next hour laughing at each other's horrified expressions until they were down to the last very last bean; which had a sickly green colour.

And it was Harry's turn.

Hermione was biting her lip, trying desperately to not laugh at his misfortune, she shook the box tauntingly in front of his face.

Harry sighed in defeat and grimaced at the bean who laid so innocently at the bottom of the box. Before his courage failed him, he took the bean in a swift motion and tossed it in his mouth.

His face immediately twisted into disgust as his taste buds got hit in full force as soon he bit into the bean, "B-boogers." Harry said, with great difficulty.

"Oh no," Hermione rocked back on her seat, her hand flying to her mouth to try to stop the uncontrollable laughter that bubbled through, peals of her laughter bounced in their compartment as his face turned more and more green.

"Oh my," Hermione said, wiping her eyes from tears as she hiccuped with laughter, "That was fun."

Hermione sighed happily as she leaned back on her seat, Harry, on the other hand, was desperately trying to get rid of the disgusting taste.

"I have an idea," Hermione suddenly said with a manic gleam to her eyes that made Harry wary. She hopped down and pulled her own copy of Hogwarts: A history from her trunk and sat down, she narrowed her eyes, and her smile grew, "Let's settle this."

She quickly explained what she had in mind; they would pick a random page in the book and pick a subject; the other would have to quote it from memory.

Harry, not one to back down from a challenge, agreed. She didn't waste any time and flipped to a random page and started citing out loud, "In 1592-"

A few hours later, their sleeves were rolled up, their books held upright on their knees, and there was unwrapped candy paper littered all around in the compartment. They had even used the bean-box as a trash can where they had tried to toss the candy paper into from their seats.

"Alright," Said Harry, peering at Hermione over his book with narrowed eyes, "Who was the Headmaster for Hogwarts between 1902-"

"Phineas Nigellus Black!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly, like every other time she knew the answer before he could finish the question.

Harry let out a very drawn out sigh and threw down his book on the seat, "You win," he said with an exaggerated dejected face, "I hereby proclaim you smarter than me when it comes to Hogwarts and its history." and did a little bow of defeat.

Hermione jumped out of her seat and held her book up high, "Yes! Yes! I win! You lose!"

Harry couldn't hold the smile back at her vicious competitiveness. The only reason why this had gone on so long was that she absolutely refused to admit defeat. He laid his head on the headrest and glanced towards the window; the sun was already halfway down. Something else came in view that made his eyes grow comically large.

"Hermione, look!" Harry said, interrupting her victory dance, and pointed towards the window.

They had arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Hermione moved over to him and followed his gaze, "Wow." she said in awe.

The train started to slow down, and they quickly threw their school robes over their muggle clothing. When Harry lifted down his trunk to the floor and was about to exit their compartment, Hermione cleared her throat.

"Hmm?"

Hermione not-so-subtly nodded to her trunk that laid so innocently on her seat, waiting for someone to lift it down.

Harry looked at her desperately, and she shrugged with a smile.

"Next time," Harry said with a mock glare, "Don't pack so many books."

This seemed to take Hermione aback, and she looked down at her clasped hands, "Are you saying that there will be a next time?" she said carefully, her voice filled with hope.

Harry awkwardly scratched his neck and motioned with his other hand, "Yeah, if you want to that is."

Hermione was still not looking at him, but she nodded eagerly.

Harry smiled and stuck out his hand, "So, what do you say? Friends?"

Hermione's head snapped up so fast that he was afraid she would get whiplash, "You- you want me to be your friend?"

Harry nodded and held out his hand a little more, to remind her to shake it to seal the deal. She looked a bit disbelievingly at the outstretched hand before she looked up at him and her face brightened considerably,

"Oompf!" Harry breathed, his lungs suddenly out of air. It took a moment for his brain to register that Hermione had closed the distance between them and currently had her small arms wrapped tightly around him.

Hermione mumbled something he couldn't hear, "Sorry, didn't catch that?"

"I'd love to be your friend." She repeated with a cracked voice.

Hermione eventually let him go, and he was startled when he saw that her eyes were misty. He debated whether he should say something but decided it had to wait because the train had stopped moving.

Harry brought down her trunk clumsily, causing it to hit the floor with a loud thump. He smiled sheepishly at her as the books scrambled loudly within. She closed her eyes and gave her head a little disappointed shake.

A voice echoed through the train: "Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately."

Harry shut his eyes and muttered, "Are you serious right now?" and he heard some muffled laughter next to him.

The corridor was packed with people trying to exit the train, and they had to wait for what seemed like an eternity before they found an exit.

Harry shivered as the cold night air hit him. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"

Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. Harry waved back to him.

Hermione gently poked him with her elbow and nodded towards the giant in front of them, gathering the newcomers.

"That's Hagrid I told you about." He said quietly, and he could see the realization dawn upon her.

"C'mon, follow me - Any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" Hagrid boomed with his voice.

They slipped and stumbled as they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path, Hermione held on to his arm tightly to not lose her balance. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there.

"Sod off, Malfoy!" Someone said loudly behind them, followed with laughs and guffaws.

The round-faced boy who was next to him groaned, "Can't they just stop." he complained, "They have been at each other's throat all day."

Harry threw a glance over his shoulder to see two students arguing with each other, "Who are they?" he asked.

The round-faced boy startled, apparently surprised that someone had heard him, he cleared his throat, "That one is Draco Malfoy," He pointed and moved to the other one, "And that is Ron Weasley."

Now Harry saw them more clearly, and he recognized them both, Malfoy he had met at Madam Malkin's robe shop during his trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. The one who had strongly reminded him of Dudley.

The other boy, Weasley, was with the family that had passed him earlier that day at the platform.

"I'm Neville, by the way." The round-faced boy said and stuck out his hand.

Harry shook it, "I'm Harry, and this is Hermione."

Hermione gave her head a slight nod in greeting, and Neville did the same.

As they walked along the path, he thought back with his afternoon with Hermione, and he realized something; he couldn't remember last time he felt so free. It was a strange but a powerful feeling to have someone to talk to without being afraid to be shunned.

He had also made his first friend, which meant more to him than anything else in the world.

"You know," Harry said with a newfound appreciation, "I'm really happy that we met."

Hermione smiled sweetly and squeezed his arm, "Me too."

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "Jus' round this bend here."

As soon they had rounded the bend, there was a collected gasp among the first-year students at the mighty sight; The majestic castle in all of its glory stood in front of them across the lake.

Harry stared at the castle with renewed awe. He had seen plenty of pictures and drawings, and they did get a glimpse of it as they pulled into the station. But it was nothing compared to actually seeing it with your own eyes and up close.

Hermione shifted closer to him, and she was just as mesmerized by the out of the world-looking castle as he was. She turned to face him with a wide smile, his face responded in kind.

Harry stuck out his arm, "What do you say, ready to start an adventure?" She smiled cheekily back at him and accepted his offered arm.

A mischievous glint could be seen in her eyes, and she said, "Let the adventures of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger begin."


	2. First day at Hogwarts.

"P-potter?" Neville stammered, looking at Hermione, "Did you say, Harry Potter?"

Harry raised his hand a little awkwardly, "That's me."

Neville promptly stuck out his hand again, "Neville Longbottom."

Harry stared at the outstretched hand for a moment before responding, "We met, like four seconds ago, remember?"

Neville flushed and looked embarrassed; Harry took pity on him and shook his hand anyway, "Harry Potter, nice to meet you."

"Harry Potter?" a voice drawled from the crowd, Harry groaned.

Malfoy emerged from the amassed crowd that had gathered at the reveal of his name, "I heard rumours that you were going to be here. I'm glad that my sources were correct," he said smugly with an air of superiority.

Harry remembered that he had once compared Malfoy to his cousin Dudley when they first met in Diagon Alley, that opinion hadn't changed. Already deciding that he didn't like Malfoy, he remained quiet and waited for him to go on.

The blond boy faced Hermione; wrinkling his nose as if he had smelled something foul. "Can I help you with something?" Harry asked nicely to divert the attention to him instead and curiously glanced at the two big bodyguards that stood by either side of Malfoy.

Malfoy slowly turned his head to Harry, "You will find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the _wrong sort_. I can help you out there."

Hermione's hold on Harry's arm tightened. Harry tried a polite smile; but it probably came out more of a grimace, "No thanks, I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself. For instance, I'm looking at one."

Someone in the crowd let out a bark of laughter, followed by a train of giggling and sniggering.

Malfoy's smug smile vanished, and his face turned red, "I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he spat, dropping the act, "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them either."

Hermione was up in Malfoy's face before Harry could stop her, her eyes glowed in a fury, "Say. That. Again." she growled slowly through gritted teeth, leaving no ambiguities of what would happen if he was foolish enough to do so.

The crowd that surrounded them instinctively took a step backwards, and a wave of whispers broke out. Harry stared wide-eyed at Hermione, feeling a rush of newfound appreciation for his new bushy-haired friend.

"Wha''s goin' on here?" Hagrid said gruffly.

"N-nothing," Malfoy said, the confidence that oozed out of him just moments prior was gone; replaced with terror and fear.

"Then stop dawdling and follow me!" Hagrid said loudly to get everyone's attention.

The first years were quick to obey, and Harry followed until he noticed that Hermione wasn't with him.

She was still standing where she had confronted Malfoy; rooted to the spot with her head lowered.

Harry walked up to her, cautiously, until he was in front of her, "You alright?" he asked worriedly.

Hermione nodded slowly and started to sputter, "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, the way he started talking about your parents, I-I couldn-"

"Hey," Harry reassured and smiled gratefully at her, "Thank you."

Hermione snapped her head up and looked at him surprisingly, "You're not mad at me?"

"Mad?" Harry scoffed, "Hermione, that was brilliant!"

Hermione lowered her head again with a smile. He wanted to tell her that no one had ever stood up for him like that before, but was interrupted by a commotion behind them.

"Wha' are yeh doin'!?" Hagrid bellowed.

Harry turned around, and he had to choke down the laughter that almost bubbled through. One of Malfoy's bodyguards had managed to tip one of the boats. Malfoy among four others emerged from the water, thoroughly soaked.

"I said no more 'n four ter a boat!" Hagrid chastised them as he righted the boat again.

Harry turned to Hermione, who was still laughing behind her hand, "You wanna grab a boat?"

Hermione looked at him for a moment before nodding eagerly. She looped her arm through his and dragged him towards one of the unoccupied boats.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. He looked at Malfoy's boat before shaking his big head, "Right then, FORWARD!"

The boat gave a slight jolt as it began to move forward, the lake was still as glass, mirroring the vast amount of stars from high above. The light provided from the stunning night sky gave the surroundings a sparkly glow, making the castle above them look even more magical than it already was.

A strange feeling was empowering in his chest as he looked at the majestic towering castle. He couldn't believe that he was actually here, right now. All those nights spent longingly looking in that book, counting down the days and now he was _finally_ here, at Hogwarts.

His throat tightened. It felt like, at last, he had found a _home_.

Suddenly remembering something, he leaned over the boat and tried to see through the dark water. The only thing he could see was his own reflection and the stars above. Hermione's mirror-image appeared next to him, and they grinned childishly at each other.

"What are you doing?" She asked curiously.

Harry knew the idea he had was silly, and he couldn't help but feel a bit foolish since it was so dark out, "I was hoping to see the Giant Squid that's supposed to live in this lake."

Hermione's brows shot up in understanding, "Ohh, that's right." she didn't dismiss the idea, or call it stupid. Instead, she remained by his side and tried to spot the Giant Squid. They couldn't help but grin at each other every time their mirror-images caught each other's eyes.

They gave up shortly after and Hermione nudged his shoulder and pointed towards the castle, "You see that tower over there? The tallest one? That's where we are going to take our Astronomy lessons," she said brightly.

Hermione kept pointing to things she had read about and explained it vividly with moving and waving hands, Harry just sat back and listened, being utterly content with the moment.

"Down with yer heads!" Hagrid shouted when they were closing in on the cliffside, Harry and Hermione glanced nervously at each other when the boats had a direct collision-course towards the cliff that was covered with moss.

To their immense relief, it wasn't a wall of moss, but a thick layer of ivy hiding the entrance of a massive cavern. The boats moved effortlessly through the ivy and kept a leisurely speed in the narrow water canal that took them deeper and deeper inside the mountain.

The channel seemed to have no end until the water finally thinned out and the boats came to a halt as it ground loudly with the rough surface underneath. The students disembarked and clambered onto the slippery rocks and pebbles. Harry lost his footing multiple times from the slippery algae-covered rocks, but he remained upright, thanks to Hermione.

Hermione gave him a cheeky smile when they finally had some more solid ground underneath their feet, "Are you sure you'll manage on your own now?"

Harry pulled a face, and she laughed, pushing him playfully away.

Hagrid led the group of students through a carved out walkway in the rock, and it didn't take long until you could feel the draft of the crisp night air coming from a bit ahead, and moments later they emerged to the surface. Thanks to his size, Hagrid moved quickly over the soft damp grass and most of the first years had to jog to keep up with him.

The castle looked even more ridiculously large when you stood next to it, and Hermione was more than happy to point out details in his ear as they walked up a flight of stone steps. When they had arrived at a large oak front door, Hagrid, for the first time, looked back over his shoulder to see if everyone was still here with him.

With a clearing of his throat, he raised his giant first and knocked loudly three times on the castle door.

The grand doors opened, revealing a stern woman dressed in emerald green robes who looked comically tiny compared to the gargantuan doors.

Hagrid puffed himself up a little, "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," he said.

"That's Professor McGonagall," Hermione whispered unnecessarily in his ear.

The stern-looking Professor peered over the first years before turning to Hagrid, "Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take them from here."

* * *

Harry stared at the mirror and grimaced at his misplaced tie. No matter how many times he tried to put it right, it was just as stubborn to cooperate as his messy hair. After one more failed attempt, he rolled his eyes and threw up his hands in defeat.

Harry cringed at the _obnoxiously_ loud snore coming from one of the four-poster beds as he hoisted up his school bag over his shoulder.

It was an extraordinarily odd feeling of waking up in a new bed, with different sounds and smells. What was particularly strange, however, was the bizarre sense of normalcy he felt being in here.

Harry strode over to the window; the sun had just started to spread it's tendrils of light above the horizon, casting a golden glow over the Hogwarts grounds. His internal clock told him that it was ten minutes past six, he smiled grimly at the reminder that he was not forced to make breakfast for the Dursleys this morning. How would they manage without him now?

Harry flinched when Ron let out another drawn-out snore that burrowed deep within his skull. He didn't think someone could snore louder than Dudley; apparently, he was wrong.

_I wonder if you can silence sounds with magic._ Harry idled mused as he quietly made his way out of the dorm and jogged lightly down the stairs. He could hardly wait for the day to start; his hands trembled a little with anticipation.

_I wonder what subjects we're going to have today, and will we get homework? I hope so. Also, I need to pay a visit to the lib_ r-

Harry stopped mid-step when the common room came in view; a certain girl sat in the comfy couch in front of the fireplace, all dressed up ready for the day like he was. Her face lit up brightly when she noticed him coming down from the stairs, "Morning, sleep well?"

"Not really," Harry said with a slightly embarrassed smile, "I was _exhausted,_ but sleep wouldn't come. I guess I was too excited for today," he grinned.

Hermione looked away slightly from him with a smile tugging at her lips, "Same here. I can't wait for our first lesson."

"Speaking of which," Harry said as he descended the last few steps, "Do you know when we get our schedules?"

Hermione scrunched up her brows in thought, "At breakfast, I believe." she paused for a few moments, hesitantly opening and closing her mouth a few times, "Ehm,"

Harry tilted his head with a smile and motioned for her to continue, she smiled cheekily back at him, "I was wondering if you would be interested in accompanying me to the library?"

When he didn't respond immediately, she started to ramble on nervously, "I _know_ it's silly, library _first thing_ in the morning? Right? It was jus-"

"I'd love to." Harry blurted out before he could stop himself. The prospect of going to the library overrode all other thoughts.

Hermione looked at him for a few moments before slowly asking, "Really?"

"Yeah," Harry said with full honesty, "I was actually planning to try to find the library at some point today, why not now?"

Hermione gleefully beamed at him and quickly stood up, swiftly swinging her bookbag over the shoulder, "You wanna go now?" She asked, her voice trembling with excitement.

Harry laughed and motioned towards the exit, "Do you know the way?"

"I don't have the faintest idea," Hermione said over her shoulder with a grin.

The Fat Lady was not impressed by the early birds but let them out anyway, and the two of them set off to their first adventure; Finding The Library.

Harry and Hermione walked closely together as they descended the myriad of staircases, narrowly missing the vanishing step that almost caused them both to topple over. They cautiously peered in many of the Hogwarts corridors and hallways in an attempt to find this famous library, even running into Mr Filch, who chased them out when they lingered too close to a door that was out-of-bounds.

"What was your favourite subject?" Hermione asked curiously when they descended a flight of stairs.

Harry thought for a moment. He actually enjoyed the comfort the classes provided for him when he attended St. Grogory's. It was the only time when Dudley couldn't openly hunt him down and beat him up like a punching bag, another reminder that brought a relieved smile on his face; he wouldn't have to hide somewhere anymore just to be able to study.

Harry flushed a little when he realised Hermione was still waiting for his response, "I honestly don't know." and quickly added, "I just liked to learn. I didn't really have a preference."

Hermione looked at him strangely, an expression that he hadn't seen on her before. Well, he hadn't known her for long either, but before he could overthink it, she looked away.

"What about you?" Harry asked as they walked down another flight of stairs, frowning when the vanishing step that was here last night was not here now.

Hermione took a deep breath, " _Well_ -" and then she went into a whole speech about which subjects were her favourites, and like yesterday, it was nearly impossible to keep up with the barrage of words that tumbled out of her mouth.

"-But I suppose that one was fine too," she finished, finally taking a breath, "What?" she asked with a quizzical face.

Harry realised that he was staring at her with a concentrated frown that could have been misinterpreted as something else; he shook his head and smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, you speak so fast. I had to concentrate."

Hermione blushed and ducked her head, "Oh."

"Not that I mind," Harry reassured her quickly, "It's just sometimes hard to keep up."

Hermione nodded, "My dad says I get it from mum, she's like that." she smiled sheepishly, "It's just when I get excited about something, I just can't help it."

Harry playfully nudged her slightly with his shoulder, "As I said, I don't mind. I just have to get used to it."

Hermione smiled for herself at the last bit.

"I see that your hands have been healing nicely," Hermione noted after awhile.

Harry looked at his hands; they were no longer red or visibly scarred. He had completely forgotten about it, "Oh yeah, look at that." he clutched and unclutched his hands, the stinging pain was gone as well.

They were idly standing in a corner, trying to decide which way to go next when Nearly Headless Nick glided out from a wall, making them both jump, "Can I help you younglings with something?"

Harry walked to the railing with his hand over his heart, trying to make it stop beating as if he had run a marathon.

"We're trying to find the Library," Hermione said after she had regained her bearings.

"Oh," The ghost said surprised, apparently paying no mind that it had nearly caused the death of two students, "Just walk down two flights, make a left, then a right, and then left two times, then straight ahead past two doors and then another two rights and there you should find it."

Harry rubbed his eyes and muttered, "Christ."

"Two down, left, right, left two times, past two doors, right two times, " Hermione said, and repeated it once more to be on the safe side, "Got it!" she hastily grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him with her, "Thank you Nicholas!" she shouted over her shoulder as they skipped two steps at a time on the stairs.

They couldn't hear the ghost's response, because Hermione had already dragged them around the corner.

They followed the directions that had been given to them and,

"It's locked!" Hermione exclaimed in outrage and stomped her left foot on the floor in frustration with her hands balled to fists at her sides. She stared at the heavy-duty chain that secured the double oak door with a clenched jaw, and then suddenly she swirled around; her bushy hair swinging wildly along, "It's locked, Harry!" she repeated in a whiny voice.

Harry jangled the bulky padlock that intersected the double-crossed chain, "Well, I suppose there's nothing else we can do but to wait."

Hermione huffed and slid down along the wall with a frown on her face, muttering, " _I cannot believe they locked it."_

Harry slid down next to her and nudged her slightly with his shoulder, "I'm sure the librarian will open it up soon." he tried to reassure her. When that didn't work, he zipped up his book bag and pulled out _Hogwarts: A History,_ "You wanna read it with me?" he asked, holding the book in front of him.

Harry smiled with amusement when this was the medicine she needed as she brightened considerably at the idea. Shifting closer, he laid out the book between them so they both could read comfortably.

Twenty minutes later, as Harry had predicted, a middle-aged lady dressed in all black with a pointed hat with a large feather attached to it finally arrived. The lady tilted her head when she noticed them and eyed them suspiciously for a moment before brandishing her wand at the door, causing the chains to vanish.

"You're here early." She said in a no-nonsense tone, "Why?" she asked bluntly when the duo nodded. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other for a moment before he responded, "Uh, to see the Library?"

The lady arched a brow and looked pointedly at both of them, "Very well, my name is Madam Pince, and I am the librarian here at Hogwarts. A warning, if you damage, mistreat or show lack of respect towards any book in this library, the consequences will be as awful as it is within my power to make them."

Harry swallowed and shrunk under her stern gaze, and to his bemusement, Hermione almost looked like she admired this vulture-looking lady.

Madam Pince swirled around and opened the doors, revealing the library to them. Hermione let out an audible gasp and Harry's eyes widened comically.

Hermione grasped his arm almost painfully, _"Harry,"_ Hermione squeaked in excitement and promptly dragged him inside, he didn't resist.

_"Books."_ Hermione breathed in reverence, _"So many books."_

Harry looked with veneration around him; he was entirely at lost of words. Hundreds upon hundreds of shelves were aligned perfectly with spaces between them across the room, between each row of shelves, there was a window to allow the natural sunlight to peer inside. Every so often there was a break in the rows, replaced with tables and chairs instead.

The size of this room was simply unfathomable, and he doubted it was possible to read all the books here within ten lifetimes.

"Hermione?" Harry whispered.

"Yes?" she breathed back as she looked around with a stunned expression.

"Is this heaven?"

Hermione nodded vigorously and decided they had wasted enough time, and she dragged him towards the nearest shelf.

The duo spent the next hour sifting through the different rows of shelves; under Madam Pince's steely gaze of course. They found books on all various subjects, races, legends, wizards and witches, and other things one could think of, it was incredible.

There was no end at how _much_ information that was stored here.

_"Restricted Section!?"_ Hermione whispered shrilly when they had arrived at the closed-off section of the library. She looked at the yellow-black sign as if it had severely offended her in some way.

Harry politely asked Madam Pince, who he found cleaning the dust off from books manually with a feather duster, "Excuse me, how do we gain access to the restricted area?"

The Librarian let out an annoyed sigh for being disturbed, "You need a signed note from a teacher, and they only give those if you have a _very_ valid reason for it."

Harry slumped in disappointment and walked back to Hermione, who was still looking longingly at the shelves on the other side of the chain.

"Well?" She asked hopefully, but her face quickly fell when she saw his forlorn expression.

"We need a note from a teacher, and they don't give out those lightly," Harry said dejectedly.

Hermione took one last mournful glance at the books and sighed. The duo debated for a few minutes if they should take another bout around the shelves before their stomach decided for them. Hermione narrowed her eyes to her tummy, " _Traitor."_

Harry grabbed a booklet on his way out, titled, " _Charms, How They Make Your Life Easier."_

_"W_ e _need_ to get one of those notes, Harry," Hermione said determinedly as soon they had walked out of the Library and snatched the booklet out of his hand to have something to read.

"Hey," Harry protested, and Hermione maturely stuck her tongue out at him. Deciding that two could play that game, Harry lightly shoved her with his hand. Apparently, not one to accept defeat, Hermione shoved him back.

Harry grinned and raised his hands in defeat, "Alright, Alright."

Hermione smiled softly and held out the booklet for him to take, "You know, I'm really glad that you got sorted into the same House as me." she said sincerely.

"Oh," Harry said a bit awkwardly and rubbed his neck, "I am glad too." he hadn't told her that the hat had the gall to suggest that he would be a good fit for Slytherin. His cheeks flushed a little that he had more or less commanded the bloody hat to put him into Gryffindor.

_And it was definitely not because Hermione got sorted there,_ Harry tried to convince himself.

"Ehm," Harry cleared his throat, "You wanna grab some breakfast?" he said in an attempt to change the subject.

Hermione looked up to him with a small smile and nodded gladly. They had been to the Library longer than they had intended because there was a flood of voices emanating from the Great Hall, indicating that it was already packed.

Harry looked up at the ceiling; _It's really incredible how magic can do that._ He idly thought for himself, admiring how the ceiling was bewitched to look like the sky outside. Something that Hermione had been more than happy to point out to him last night before the Sorting Ceremony.

"Harry!" Ron shouted through the multitude of loud voices to gain their attention and waved high above his head.

Harry briefly introduced Hermione to his roommates, Ron, Seamus and Dean.

"Where have you two been off to?" Ron asked as he loaded his plate up. _Is he going to eat all that?_ Harry thought, seeing the mound of food on his plate.

"The Library," Hermione said offhandedly as if it was the most normal thing to do while she prepared her breakfast.

The three boys in front of them looked up from their plates, all looking confused, "But... the lessons have not even started yet?" Ron quizzed with a frown on his face.

Hermione rolled her eyes and buttered a scone, "So?" she looked to Harry with a glowing smile, "We both were up early, and decided to take a peek."

Ron looked at her as if she had gone mental, "And out of all things, you decided the library would be a good first stop?"

Hermione and Harry both nodded simultaneously in agreement towards Ron.

"Alright," Ron said, not quite believing them and dug into his breakfast.

Harry shifted uncomfortably on his seat when he noticed that several students were staring at him, not very subtly either. Harry turned around and saw that students from other tables were trying to get a look at him as well.

Hermione seemed to take notice and shifted closer to him. She didn't say anything, and she didn't have to. He smiled at her gratefully, and she grinned back, and the two of them fell comfortably into a discussion of the books they had found, and how they were going to acquire permission to get into the restricted section.

"Miss Granger, Mr Potter," McGonagall greeted them politely, "I see that you have made each other acquainted." Harry swore that he saw a tiny smile tugging on the stern Professor, but it could just have been a trick of the light, "Madam Pince told me that you had visited the Library already?"

Hermione and Harry nodded, "That's good." Professor McGonagall said, "Here are your timetables." and then moved over to the next pair of students.

"We have Herbology first, Harry." Hermione said quietly, as she scanned through their schedule, "Then we have History of Magic, lunch, and then Transfiguration." she concluded and carefully folded up the parchment.

"You wanna go now? I think that it might not be a bad idea to go a bit earlier, so we can ensure that we get there in time." Hermione said wisely and turned to face him.

Harry agreed, and they made their way out, and unlike the library, finding the greenhouses was a far more straightforward task. A squat little witch was watering a batch of flowers in a pot when they arrived, she smiled warmly at them, "Ah, Welcome!" she chirped with her hands on her hips, a watering can hanging loosely in her left hand.

Harry and Hermione softly conversed with the chipper Professor while they waited for the other students. Half of the lesson was an introduction to Herbology, the other half they spent repotting young Bouncing Bulbs.

Harry was handling a particularly aggressive one; it managed to wriggle free of his grip and smacked him hard in the face. Which, of course, Hermione thought was hilarious; she was not the only one.

Harry rubbed his cheek with a grimace as they walked through the halls to their next lesson. Hermione was walking next to him, biting her lip to contain the laughter that desperately wanted to come out.

"It wasn't _that_ funny," Harry complained and sighed, "Even the Professor laughed at us!"

"At _you,_ " Hermione automatically corrected and cleared her throat when Harry threw her a glare, "You're right, it wasn't funny." She said in his defence, although her face was telling an entirely different story.

History of Magic turned out to be an exciting subject; unfortunately, Professor Binns was not. Harry had to struggle to keep his eyes open as the Professor droned on in a sleep-inducing tone, Hermione had to poke him in the ribs several times.

"I cannot believe that you almost fell asleep!" Hermione exclaimed as they exited the classroom.

"Like I was the only one," Harry said defensively, half of the class was asleep after fifteen minutes. At least he made it to twenty-five before his brain wanted to shut down.

Hermione huffed disapprovingly and stuck her chin up, "You should be glad that I made notes. Otherwise, you would have a hard time finishing the assignment he gave us."

Something warm spread in his chest, Harry couldn't stop the smile even if he tried. He nudged her lightly with his shoulder, "I _am_ glad. Thank you."

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, "You're welcome."

After lunch, Harry and Hermione were the first ones to arrive at the Transfiguration class. To their bemusement, there was a tabby cat that sat patiently on the teacher's desk; following their movements intently as the duo took their seats. There was something familiar in the cat's eyes, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

The blackboard behind the cat had instructions written out already, so they both pulled out their books and set to work. Slowly the classroom filled up with students, and there was no teacher in sight, just the cat.

Nobody was talking; the only sound that could be heard was the scratching from the quills. Ten minutes after the lesson was supposed to start, the two missing students stumbled inside. Harry looked over his shoulder; it was Ron and Seamus. Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head in disappointment at the latecomers.

"Could you imagine the look on McGonagall's face if she knew that we were late?" Ron sighed in relief at the lack of a present Professor.

Suddenly, the tabby cat that has been sitting on the desk all this time leapt into the air and transformed into Professor McGonagall. Harry turned to Hermione, who was just as stunned as him, _"did you see that!?"_ Harry mouthed in disbelief to her, she nodded and looked at their Professor in awe.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron exclaimed in astonishment.

"Well, thank you for that assessment, Mr Weasley," Professor McGonagall remarked dryly, "Perhaps it would be more useful if I were to transfigure Mr Finnigan and yourself into a pocket watch? That way one of you might be on time," she said in a disapproving tone.

Ron and Seamus took their seats with their heads hung low. The class continued after the dressing down, and the Professor touched the basics of what was Transfiguration and finished the introduction with a warning, "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Professor McGonagall then demonstrated by fluidly transforming her desk into a living pig; Harry leaned and whispered in amazement, "You weren't kidding." Hermione gave him a knowing smile before turning to their Professor again. After taking many detailed notes, they were each given a match, and their assignment was to turn the match into a needle.

While they didn't say it, it was clear that Harry and Hermione were competing to see who could transfigure their match first. Harry rolled his eyes when Hermione managed to do it on her fifth attempt, and she, of course, couldn't resist pointing out that she had managed before him.

However, he was secretly thrilled that she had won, and she was kind enough to instruct him how she had managed to do it. After a few attempts under her tutelage, he managed to transfigure the match to a silver needle.

Professor McGonagall gave the blushing duo a rare smile as she proudly displayed the two needles for the rest of the class; They were the only ones who had managed to do any changes to their matches.

"Miss Granger, Mr Potter." McGonagall called after the class had ended, "Good job today, both of you."

Harry and Hermione grinned at each other the second they were outside the classroom and did a high-five in celebration and made their way for dinner, which they spent mostly about the subjects they've today and about their respective given assignments.

Later that evening, Harry was in the common room with the rest of the boys from his dorm. They were trying to teach him the rules of Quidditch; a sport that he was very much interested in. Ron was especially animated about teaching him, using figurines on the table to display different winning positions. He was just about to explain the chasers' importance when someone softly tapped on Harry's shoulder.

Harry smiled when he saw it was Hermione. She had the book, _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi,_ clutched closely to her chest, "I was wondering, perhaps, if you wanted to study with me?" she asked quietly, looking down.

"Study, what for?" Ron said amusingly, "It's only the first day!"

"Sure," Harry said, ignoring the sounds of protests behind him and grabbed his book bag. Harry gave the boys an apologetic smile, "Sorry, another time?"

Ron nodded dejectedly, "Are you still up for Wizard's chess later this week?"

"Yeah, sure," Harry promised and stood up.

"Where do you wanna sit?" Harry wondered as he looked around in the common room for an open place, when she didn't respond he turned to her and was surprised to see her looking a bit taken aback, "What is it?" he wondered.

Hermione smiled and shook her head, "Nothi- Nothing, I just didn't think that you would say yes."

Harry's brows shot up, and he looked at her, bewildered, "Why not?"

Hermione gave him a hesitant smile and shook her head once again, "What about there?" she nodded towards a secluded corner.

"Uhm," There was something she wasn't telling him, he decided to let it go and hoped that she would tell him in due time, he looked at where she had nodded to, "Yeah, sure."

_It's a nice corner,_ Harry mused. It had a small table, with two comfy chairs at opposite sides and it was surrounded with shelves, shielding them from any onlookers.

Harry sat down, and Hermione moved the other chair to sit next to him. She pulled out a set of quills, ink and parchment for them to use and they set to work. The light outside quickly faded out as the two students worked peacefully together, only having a slight disagreement about one of the growth stages of a Bouncing Bulb,

"There!" Hermione said in her bossy tone and hastily slid the book over to him, almost knocking over the candle in the process. She pointed towards a block of text, "As I have told you, _several_ times already," she huffed in annoyance, "You have to resoil it with fertilized soil after it has been potted for three weeks, two if it has gotten enough of sun."

Harry rolled his eyes and scratched out the bits he had gotten wrong, "You have to resoil it with fertilized soil-" he said in a mocking tone as he jotted it down.

"What was that?" Hermione said with a lifted brow, challenging him to keep going.

Harry smiled sheepishly at her, "Nothing."

Hermione narrowed her eyes for a moment before huffing and resuming on her essay. The candle on the table slowly shrunk down as the evening progressed,

"There," Hermione said gleefully, putting down her quill and stretching her back and arms, "That was fun," she said with a fulfilled smile as her joints let out a satisfying crack.

Harry laughed as he scanned through his parchment, trying to see where he could improve. This was precisely what he had imagined and hoped it would be when he had arrived here at Hogwarts. To be able to do homework in peace and quiet, and not to have to look over your shoulder every minute or so.

A study partner was something he always had wished for but was never allowed to have, because anyone who dared to go near Harry, would get beat up by Dudley. He copied Hermione and stretched his arms above his head with a contented smile. _Yes, this is a dream that has come true._

"Do you mind if I take a look?" Hermione asked, nodding towards his parchment.

"By all means," Harry said and slid the parchment over to her.

"Oh, you have added a description of the different colours the Bouncing Bulb goes through as it matures through its different growth stages," Hermione said, impressed.

Harry rested his chin in his hand and nodded, "Yeah, I thought that extra little tidbit wouldn't hurt. You can copy it if you want."

Hermione bit her lip slightly as she compared his essay to hers, "No, it should be fine..." she said hesitantly. When he was about to take back his piece of parchment, she groaned and grabbed her quill, hastily jotting down her version of what he had written.

Harry smiled triumphantly at her when she was finished, and she half-heartedly glared at him, "Oh hush, you."

Harry laughed, "I haven't said anything." he said defensively.

Hermione packed up her things and huffed, "No, but you wanted to."

Harry rolled up his essay and gently put it in his book bag, "Oh, you bet I do."

"So," Harry said hesitantly, nervously tapping the tip of his quill against the table, "Would you like to be my Study Partner?" he asked bluntly while he still had the courage _._

Hermione froze as she packed down her book, a shy smile quickly grew on her face, "Yes." she said happily and closed up her bag.

"Great!" Harry said louder than what he had intended, not being able to hide the excitement he felt at the moment. His cheeks flushed when some students that were still up at this late hour frowned at him for the disruption.

They walked to where the stairs split between the girls and boys dormitories, and Harry rubbed his neck out of habit, "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Hermione picked on the strap of her bag as she nodded.

"Well, Goodnight then," Harry said politely and made his way up.

"Wait!" Hermione shouted to get his attention, and he walked down a few steps until she came back into view.

Hermione avoided to look at him, and settled herself to look at her clasped hands, she opened and closed her mouth a few times, "I-I..." she closed her eyes shut when the words refused to come. She bit her lip and frowned for a moment before opening her eyes and looked straight at him, "Thank you for today, Harry." her eyes searched in his, "It meant a lot to me." and she was gone before Harry could say anything.

Harry's shoulder slumped, and a smile slowly grew on his face. He turned around and made his way upstairs where a lovely bed waited,

_You have no idea how much it meant to me too, Hermione._


	3. It was a tie.

Harry rubbed his tired eyes and dipped his quill in the ink jar, _"To make a successful Transfiguration, it is important to form a clear mental picture of the object you are hoping to create before attempting the spell. You need to make firm and decisive-"_

A strange sound startled him and caused him to make an ugly line on the last word he wrote. He frowned at the offender next to him.

Hermione had fallen asleep on her homework, smearing out the ink and on to her cheek. He fought back another yawn that had stubbornly tried to come out in the past hour. Harry laid down the quill and blew lightly on the parchment to let the ink dry, it was enough for tonight, and they had to Monday to turn this in.

Harry stretched his arms above his head until his joints cracked in all the lovely places and looked back to Hermione with slumped shoulders, a smile of amusement tugging at his lips. She looked so at ease and peaceful. Not for the first time this week, he wondered what was swirling around in that brilliant mind of hers.

Harry clasped his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling, thinking how _fast_ this first week had gone by, and how much fun it had been. Well, mostly fun, he corrected himself.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was a big let down for both Harry and Hermione, one of the subjects they had been looking forward to most. Unfortunately, it was almost impossible to discern what the Professor was trying to teach them due to his constant stuttering. To make things worse, the smell in the classroom was vomit-inducing.

After much trial and error, they did learn how to cast the Wand-lightning Charm and its counterpart, so it wasn't wholly a waste of time.

Charms had been a real surprise. Professor Flitwick was an incredibly energetic Professor who was really eager to pass his knowledge to his students. Unlike the other classes, Professor Flitwick did not spend much time giving them an introduction speech and instead dived straight into the more practical part of the subject.

He had divided them up in pairs, and each team got a padlock that they would practice two spells on; _Colloportus_ and _Alohomora_.

The objective was: one would lock the padlock; the other would unlock it and then vice versa. Of course, Hermione had to turn this into a competition when they had managed to get both spells down. They started to trade spells to see who could lock and unlock the padlock the fastest.

Professor Flitwick had squeaked with joy when he noticed how they had turned it into a competitive game and watched their wandwork with a proud smile; awarding them both top marks for their impressive display. Hermione couldn't resist but tackle Harry with a hug as soon Professor Flitwick had turned to watch the pair next to them.

Midnight Astronomy was alright; the only downside was that it took place during, well, midnight. Sleep was always close by, trying to make him close his eyes and fall into the wondrous land of dreams. Luckily, it was nothing but a few pokes in the ribs from a glaring Hermione couldn't fix.

Potions. He could feel anger simmer below the surface as the memory of a crying Hermione got pushed to the forefront of his mind. For whatever reason, Professor Snape had it out for him from the second they stepped a foot in his classroom, and Hermione had to pay for it since she repeatedly took Harry's side.

It was terrifyingly eerily how Professor Snape used the same method as Dudley to make his life hell.

Harry leaned his chin on his propped-up hand and watched Hermione sleep soundly, any trace of her earlier mood had vanished and replaced with a small smile. He never had anyone to depend on him like that before, to be trusted that he wouldn't laugh or poke fun when someone needed a shoulder to lean on.

It was a new experience, although he felt entirely out of his depth, he did what he could to console her in their little safe haven here during their lunch break. He still couldn't figure out why his scar had hurt at the time.

Deciding that he had reminisced enough, Harry packed up his and Hermione's things and gently poked her on the shoulder. Hermione let out a very loud snort that made his face split wide with a grin, and he nudged her one more time.

"Hunnhh?" Hermione said blearily into her parchment.

Harry grinned and put the last things in his school bag, "It's getting late. We should probably go to bed."

Hermione yawned and stretched herself out, and Harry had to force himself not to burst out laughing at how one side of her face was smeared with ink.

She narrowed her sleepy eyes to him, "What?"

Harry bit inside of his cheek and looked innocently at her, "Hmm?"

"You look far too happy about something." She said with another yawn escaping.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Harry replied and hoisted his bag, to his misfortune, Hermione noticed the smudged strains on her ruined parchment and managed to put two and two together. She touched her cheek and glared at her ink-stained fingers.

Hermione looked affrontingly at him, "You're awful, you know that?"

"Yes," Harry laughed and quickly snatched the ink bottle away when Hermione glanced at it as if she was planning for an act of revenge.

Hermione huffed, "I wasn't going to do anything." and packed up her things, minus the ink bottle that was still secured in Harry's hand.

They walked to the barrier that divided the stairs between their respective dormitories and stopped, both reluctant to let the day come to an end. It was an unspoken tradition between them that they couldn't go up until both had said good night to each other, and both usually took advantage of it to prolong the inevitable for as long as possible.

After a few minutes of silence as both of them looked anywhere but each other, Harry sighed, "Ehm, Goodnight, Hermione." he said with great reluctance and waited for her to wish him the same.

Hermione fiddled with her hands for a moment as she focused on his shoes, "Harry?" she said hesitantly and at his hum, she continued, "About earlier today, I just wanted to say thank you. For being there for me."

Harry cleared his throat and nervously scratched his nape, feeling the heat rise on his cheeks, "Of course, that's what friends are for, right?"

Hermione was still looking at his shoes when a shy smile grew on her face, and before he could react, she had wrapped her arms around him, squeezing till there was no more air in his lungs.

She stepped back with embarrassment flushing her face and tucked a stray strand to behind her ear, "Goodnight, Harry." she said quietly with a broad smile before turning and skipping upon the stairs.

Harry stared at the spot where she had vanished out of his sight for a few seconds with a smile of his own, "Goodnight, Hermione." he repeated.

Harry groaned in his pillow when the four-poster bed next to him let out a long, drawn-out snore.

* * *

_I give up._

He slowly counted down from five and forced himself to sit up when the count hit zero; this bed was dangerously comfortable and far too inviting. It had become increasingly more difficult to force himself to get up at these early hours since sleep had become so alluring.

Harry rubbed the sleep from his eyes, with a sigh and no more excuses, he began the morning ritual and prepared himself for the day.

The common room was empty this morning, he walked to the middle of it and basked in the magnificent calmness that resided down here in the early hours of the day. With a sigh of fulfilment, he made himself comfortable on the couch as he relished in the lovely cracks and snaps the firewood emitted from the fireplace.

He opened his bag and pulled out his copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1_ and got to work.

He was so engrossed in his book that he hadn't noticed that two people were right behind him; both were grinning mischievously at their unsuspecting victim. They both leaned in and loudly cleared their throats at the same time, causing Harry to jump a foot in the air with a very high pitched squeak. He clutched one of the toss pillows and held on to it for dear life while the brothers howled in the background.

"Oh, brother of mine," Fred or George chuckled; Harry still had no idea how to tell them apart.

"Who do we have here," The other continued.

"At this ungodly hour,"

"Other than Harry Potter himself!" They both finished in perfect harmony. He found it incredibly disturbing how they could finish each other's sentences like that.

"Your girl will be down in any second," One of them said grinning over their shoulder as they walked in tandem towards the portrait.

_My girl?_ Harry frowned.

"Morning, Harry!" Hermione said brightly as she skipped down on the steps, her hair swaying back and forth between each hop.

Now Harry was even more confused, how could they have possibly known that she was on her way down?

_No matter, another mystery for another day._ He thought and smiled back at Hermione as he greeted in kind, picking up the book that got tossed when the twins gave him the death scare.

Hermione gave him a smirk when she saw which book it was, "What?" he asked in puzzlement.

"Are you studying a little in Charms because I beat you last time?" she said smugly as she sat down next to him.

Harry huffed, "You most certainly did not beat me. Besides, we both got top marks, so it was a tie."

Hermione didn't like that answer, " _No._ It wasn't. _"_ she said firmly, "It was my turn to unlock the lock, and the class ended after that. Which means, I got one more point than you."

Harry looked up from his book and gave her a _"Are you being serious right now?"_ -look. She merely shrugged and rooted in her bag as she muttered for herself: " _I won._ "

He briefly considered to thump her with one of the toss pillows before quickly dismissing the idea. He wasn't particularly keen to find out the results if he decided to go down that path, nothing good that was for sure. Instead, he decided to change the topic altogether, "Hey, do you know any spell that can silence sounds?"

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment, "Probably, I would be surprised if there weren't." she replied and then frowned at him, "Hey, why are you asking? You're not planning to use it on me, are you?"

Harry sighed dramatically, "Oh no, I was being too obvious, weren't I?"

Unlike him, Hermione didn't hesitate to use one of the pillows and hit him a few times on the shoulder for that remark. She huffed when she deemed he had received enough punishment, "You're such a prat."

Harry grinned and lightly nudged her with his shoulder, "Yet, you're still friends with me."

She sighed and smiled softly at him, "Sometimes, I do wonder why."

"Hey, you two." Neville greeted them, interrupting their endless banter. Harry smiled sympathetically at him when he saw the round-faced boy's appearance, "Ron?" a sleepy nod and a yawn was his response.

He swore that he could hear Hermione roll her eyes behind him before she uttered a word, "He can't seriously be that bad?" she said in disbelief.

Neville rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, "It feels like an earthquake each time he lets out one of those deafening snores."

Hermione blinked a few times before her expression slowly turned into a grimace as she painted the image in her head.

"Breakfast?" Neville asked them, and Harry looked at Hermione with the same question.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Fine. Breakfast it is."

It was a bit awkward at first since any topic seemed to die out fast until Hermione mentioned their Herbology homework, which immediately sparked Neville's interest. As they descended the stairs, Hermione cleared her throat,

"Neville, I have a question, " Hermione said innocently and looked briefly at Harry with a grin, "What do you have to do with a young Bouncing Bulb- Now be quiet!" she said pointedly to Harry when he groaned, "-After it's been potted for three weeks?"

Neville glanced between them two, not sure if they were playing a prank with him. Harry sighed, "Just-" he let out another sigh and rolled his eyes, "Just tell her, she just wants to rub it in my face that she happened to be right for once."

Although she barely breathed it, he could clearly hear her say, _"I'm always right."_

"Uhm," he said hesitantly, "You have to re-soil it with fertilised soil. Otherwise the roots won't get enough nutrients, and you risk killing the plant," he said, his eyes nervously glancing between the two students.

"Thank you, Neville," Hermione smiled sweetly and looked expectantly at Harry, "Got something you wanna add, Harry?"

"You were right, and I was wrong." Harry said exasperatedly, "You know, I might use the silencing spell on you after all." he deadpanned.

Hermione gasped, "You wouldn't!" and playfully shoved him.

The poor boy seemed more confused than ever, so Harry explained what their little dispute was about, and Neville nodded in understanding, "Ah, so that was what you two were arguing about earlier this week."

Hermione sniffed and stuck her chin out, "There wouldn't be any arguing if Harry weren't so stubborn."

"It isn't that I am stubborn," Harry defended himself, "You turn the page before I have finished reading it!"

Hermione frowned at his reply, "Then read faster?" she replied as if the answer was that obvious.

"How am I suppos-" Harry stopped himself and pinched the bridge of his nose as he took a deep breath, " _Almighty_ _Christ,_ I give up."

"You're awful. You know that?" Harry said flatly when her expression turned triumphant, repeating her words from last night.

Hermione's smile turned into a full-blown grin, and she playfully pushed him with her shoulder, "Yes."

The trio idly chatted about anything school-related they could think of, although it was clear that they were all avoiding anything that revolved around yesterday's events.

* * *

A sudden cacophony of scree's filled the Great Hall, indicating the arrival of the owls. Harry quickly spotted his snowy white owl among the sea of brown and grey birds. For the first time since his arrival, Hedwig actually had mail with her this time, and there were two letters tied neatly to her leg.

Hermione offered Hedwig some refreshments as Harry removed the string that held the letters in place. One of them was from Hagrid and the other to his surprise was from their head of house, Professor McGonagall.

He quickly tore up the one from Hagrid first and laid it out so Hermione could read it as well;

_Dear Harry,_

_Would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig._

_Hagrid_

"You wanna tag along, Hermione?" he asked the girl next to him, a bright smile was all that was needed to know her answer. He borrowed her quill and quickly scribbled a reply before sending Hedwig off.

He picked up the second one and noticed that the letter was also addressed to Hermione.

The colour on Hermione's face drained rapidly, and she stared at the letter in trepidation before turning to Harry, "Have we done something we weren't supposed to? Are we in trouble?" she grabbed his arm, "Are we getting expelled?!"

Harry quirked a brow, "Yes, that's probably exactly what this letter is about. Our expulsion." he choked on the pumpkin juice at the withering glare she gave him at that answer. He hastily sliced the letter open and skimmed through it, Hermione bouncing nervously on the seat.

The letter itself was vague and short, an invitation to Professor McGonagall's private quarters for some tea.

"What does it say?" Neville asked curiously.

When Harry remained quiet, Hermione started to quickly slap the table to get his attention. He shook his head as if he just remembered that they were there, "Uhm," and he couldn't help but smile mischievously at Hermione, "It says, and I quote, 'It was a tie.'"

Hermione looked confused for a moment before her jaw clenched, and she slowly closed her eyes as she started to take deep regulated breaths, and he heard her quietly counting backwards from ten. At zero, she opened her eyes and didn't even glance at him before snatching the letter out of his hands and started to read it for herself.

"Couldn't you just have said that she just wanted to meet us!?" Hermione said exasperatedly.

Harry shrugged, "Where would the fun be in that?" an annoyed huff was the reply he received.

Ron appeared and slid in next to Neville, with Seamus and Dean following, "Who wants to meet you?" the red-head asked, looking back and forth between them.

"Professor McGonagall," Harry responded before taking a bite from a scone.

Ron grimaced, "What does she want?"

"She invited us for some tea," Hermione shrugged nonchalantly, offering no further explanation.

"We don't know why though," Harry chimed in when he noticed Ron getting visibly annoyed by her curt response. He got the distinct feeling that Ron wasn't particularly fond of Hermione, as he almost always got a bit snappish whenever her name got mentioned.

Ron deflated and nodded before perking up with a grin, "You have time for some Wizard's chess this afternoon? You still haven't beaten me."

Harry gave him a severe glance and a pointed finger, "One day I will, one day." and added as Ron scoffed disbelievingly, "Yeah sure, I can spare an hour or two."

Ron clapped the table in celebration, causing Neville to glare at the red-head for almost spilling his drink, "Great!"

The breakfast continued as more of the Great Hall filled with hungry students. Ron talked about Quidditch with Seamus and Dean while Neville was talking about Herbology with Harry and Hermione. As soon they had finished their breakfast, Hermione subtly tugged on his sleeve to get his attention.

She glanced at the entrance and lifted her brows with a small hopeful smile, _Library?_

Harry rolled his eyes with a smile, knowing that it would annoy her a little. She huffed and flicked lightly on his arm, and her eyes turned pleading. He tilted his head and lifted a brow, and she almost pouted at him.

He grinned at how quickly her face brightened when he exaggerated a sigh and grabbed their bags.

"Where are you two off to?" Neville asked curiously, glancing between them.

Not unable to contain her excitement, "To the library," she replied eagerly.

Ron shook his head and looked at them in bemusement, "But, it's Saturday!"

Harry blinked a few times, "So? What difference does it make?"

Ron looked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing, "B-but it's weekend, you don't study or do homework on the weekend!"

Hermione shared a glance with Harry before replying, "Sounds like the perfect opportunity to study and do homework to me."

Ron muttered something at his breakfast before getting elbowed hard in the ribs from Dean, "OW! What was that for!?"

"Ehm," Harry said hesitantly, "I'll see you later, Ron." he gave rest of boys a nod before turning around and leaving the Great Hall with Hermione in tow, basically skipping in excitement for a visit to, what she had called, the most incredible place on earth.

* * *

Four hours later, they stood in front of the door that was the entrance to Professor McGonagall's private quarters. They had been standing here for several minutes, trying to muster up the courage actually to knock on the door.

"Ok," Hermione breathed out, "We can't back out now. So knock on the door, Harry," she said confidently.

"Me? Why me?" Harry argued.

"Because the letter was addressed to you," She whispered harshly and nodded for him to knock on the door.

Harry frowned, "If you don't remember, it was also addressed to you." he countered.

Hermione nodded, "Yes, but she wrote your name before mine. Therefore you should knock."

He threw up his hands, "You're ridiculous." and knocked on the door as he glared at Hermione; who ignored his existence.

"Please take a seat," Professor McGonagall said when they had entered, motioning to two plush comfortable-looking chairs. The room was less cosy than their common room, but there was no doubt that it belonged to a Gryffindor.

"Now," she said and motioned to the tray of biscuits that was neatly organised on the wooden table in front of them, which they both accepted gratefully, "I'm sure that you are wondering why I invited you two here today."

The Deputy Headmistress took a sip of her tea before looking back and forth between them, her expression being unreadable, "I was made aware of what happened yesterday when Mr Longbottom was brought to Hospital Wing, as is custom when anyone under my house gets injured."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione duck her head down, and he got the strong urge to get up from his seat and comfort her.

Professor McGonagall's expression turned sympathetic, and she clasped her hands together, "I have received testimonies from several students of the event that transpired during the Potions class yesterday. I need to make one thing clear before we continue, you two are not in any shape or form responsible for what happened to Mr Longbottom."

Harry could see Hermione visibly relax at this, and he could feel a weight being lifted from his shoulder at the news.

"The behaviour Professor Snape exhibited towards the Gryffindors, and especially to you two, was completely unacceptable, and I will not allow it to happen again." Harry was taken aback of the fierce protectiveness in her voice.

She continued, "I have brought this up with the Headmaster, and he gave me his word that he would ensure your future lessons with Professor Snape would remain fair and free of the blatant bullying that occurred."

She gave them a moment to let them take in the news before she actually smiled at them, "Now, for the other reason I invited you here. There's been a rather frequent topic during the dinners among the teachers, namely you two."

"U-us?" Hermione stammered, and she looked at Harry with widened eyes. Harry could feel his cheeks starting to burn as their Professor smiled proudly at the pair.

"Now, it's not uncommon that a certain student becomes a frequent topic depending on the circumstances." Professor McGonagall looked at her two cubs over the top of her glasses, "What's uncommon, however, is the amount of praise you two are getting from each respective Professor in the subject they teach in, including from me."

At their stunned silence, the Professor continued,

"Professor Flitwick told me about the impromptu competition you two had during his class earlier this week. He was very proud of the innovative method you have come up with and wasn't shy with the praises. I told him that I saw you two do something similar in your first Transfiguration class and he admitted to me that he was very jealous that you weren't sorted in his House instead." Professor McGonagall said with a warm smile.

Hermione and Harry grinned back at their teacher. He looked at Hermione and saw how completely overjoyed she was with the news that he hardly could believe himself.

"You two make a good team," she said sincerely, "and I hope that we will continue to see more brilliance from you two, though I do not doubt that we will."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said hoarsely, not realising how dry his throat was, "We won't let you down."

Professor McGonagall smiled and gave them a nod, "I believe I have taken up enough of your Saturday already, I'll see you in my class on Monday." and with a flick of her wand, she opened the door for them.

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione reiterated and grabbed Harry's arm to drag them out. As soon they were out, and the door had swung shut, Hermione pulled him into a tight hug and squeezed for all he was worth, "Harry!" she exclaimed gleefully and jumped up and down.

Harry couldn't help but laugh as he returned the pressure of the hug. It felt like he was floating on clouds at how ecstatic he was feeling right now; like nothing would ever bring him down again.

They parted from the hug, their smiles never vanishing. Harry leaned over the rail, with Hermione appearing next to him and they couldn't help but grin at each other.

"You know," Hermione said after a moment of silence, "I will give you that tie after all," she said before they both burst out laughing.

* * *

Harry rubbed his brow and frowned in concentration as he stared at the checkered board in front of him, trying to figure his next best move. His opponent sat at the opposite of him, resting his chin on clasped hands, smiling devilishly.

The novice chess player saw an opening and decided to capitalise on it, thinking that his challenger had made a grave error. Harry moved his knight to block Ron's queen that had access to his bishop.

With a surge of confidence that he had this in the bag, he put his piece down, only to realise that he played exactly as Ron had expected him to.

Ron showed him no mercy and immediately moved his bishop. Harry closed his eyes as the bishop made a scratching sound as it ran diagonally across the board, and he flinched with a grimace at the sound of his king getting sliced in pieces.

This was Harry's fifth loss.

In thirty minutes.

"Number five!" Hermione shouted gleefully across the common room, raising her arm above her head and splaying all five fingers. Harry's face twitched in annoyance at how much she enjoyed this.

"I can count, thank you very much!" he shouted back, his voice seeping with irritation. He could hear some muffled laughter in the background as Hermione buried her face in the book she was reading.

Ron put the pieces back in their starting positions and offered Harry an apologetic smile. Harry shook his head and started to mentally review the last game at what he did wrong. He had never realised how much strategy went into chess, even though he was getting beaten quite badly, he still enjoyed the challenge it provided. He could easily see himself spending his free time learning this; it was an excellent tool to sharpen one's problem-solving skills.

"You wanna do another round?" Ron asked hopefully as he turned the chess pieces, so they all faced neatly straight forward.

"Yeah," Harry said as he stretched his back, grimacing at how stiff it was, "You may beat me, but it's still fun."

Ron chuckled as he moved his centre pawn, "I can imagine this is a nice break from the usual."

Harry moved his centre pawn as well, mimicking Rons, "What do you mean?"

"A break from her, I mean," Ron said, nodding towards the girl who was taking notes from her _A History of Magic Book.,_ "She hovers around you all the time, must be annoying."

Harry shook his head, confused, "I don't understand." and moved his knight out, "She's my friend, why would I need a break from her?"

"C'mon," Ron replied and released his bishop, "It must be quite a chore to have her nag on you all the time, you spend all the time outside classes either in the library or in the common room doing homework."

Harry paused his movement and hovered his piece just above the board as he frowned at the redhead in front of him, "She does not nag me nor do I find it annoying." he replied with a hint of annoyance and put his pawn down.

Ron looked bewildered, "Really?" and took out Harry's knight with his bishop; he briefly glanced over his shoulder before whispering harshly, "You actually enjoy spending time with that know-it-all? All she does is forcing you to either study or to do homework."

Harry narrowed his eyes angrily towards Ron as he tried to make sense of what his dormmate was saying, "Hermione isn't forcing me to do anything, what are-" and got interrupted by the redhead's scoff of disbelief.

Losing any motivation to carry the game any further, Harry shrugged and threw up his hands in frustration, grabbing his bag before standing up, "I don't know what your issue is with Hermione, but she's my friend, and I enjoy spending time with her."

"Besides," Harry said, interrupting Ron's attempt to get an edge in, "If you haven't paid any attention, we both get almost identical grades, we both answer questions in class and we both study hard. If she's a know-it-all, then I am one as well." and he turned before Ron had a chance to reply.

Harry glanced at the clock that hung above Hermione and noticed they barely had ten minutes to three, "You're still interested to go to Hagrid's?" he asked more gruffly than what he had intended, annoyance still lingering from his previous conversation.

The ever-observant Hermione noticed and quirked a brow at his stiff tone, Harry shook his head and smiled, "Just a slight disagreement, nothing important." she held her questioning brow for a moment longer before relenting. She nodded, "Of course," and smiled gratefully when Harry grabbed her bag.

They moved in pace with each other out of the common room, Hermione was happily chatting about their Charm homework, and Harry was just content to listen. It always amused him how she vividly moved her hands around in the air as she tried to explain things for him, even though he was well versed in the particular topic, he let her ramble on. It always seemed to have a positive effect on her to let her share her knowledge of something.

Harry couldn't stop smiling when Hermione, without skipping a breath, shifted the topic from Charms homework into a massive rant about students gossiping in the library. He picked up a dozen acorns when they were outside and lazily tried to juggle a few as the girl next to him got further and further into her rant. He laughed in agreement when Hermione hotly declared that it should be considered a crime to tarnish their sanctuary with foolish, meaningless giggling and chatter.

Hermione flushed with embarrassment when she realised that she had tortured him with another of her long winded rants. He grinned and casually threw an underhanded acorn at her, causing her to direct a glare towards him. She quickly scooped up a handful of acorns at the next oak tree they passed and sought out revenge.

They pitched the hard-shelled acorns at each other as they made their way down towards Hagrid, filling the grounds with their childish laughter. When he was out of ammunition, he ran the last distance to the hut in an attempt to get away from the chasing maniac behind him.

Harry lifted his hands in defeat when he had arrived at the hut, almost stumbling over a roaming chicken that pecked on the ground to get a worm out. Hermione was still some ways out and grinned at him as she tossed any remaining acorns she had.

He took a second to catch his breath and turned to the abnormally large door, when something conked him in the back of his head, followed with a whoop of delight. Harry turned around and spread his arms wide, "I admitted defeat!"

"Oh, I must have missed it. My bad." Hermione said with a smirk that told him that she did, in fact, not miss his surrender.

Hermione moved to stand next to him, and she frowned slightly at the large crossbow that was leaning against the wall and instead moved to Harry's other side, "What? It's loaded." she explained herself when Harry looked at her curiously.

"Oh, so it's better that I get hit instead in case it would go off?" Harry asked with amusement.

Hermione frowned, "Yes?" she replied as if it was apparent.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Geez, thanks." and knocked on the wooden door, ignoring Hermione's muffled giggling. A booming bark on the other side of the door made him rear back, almost losing balance on the stone steps.

_"Back, Fang, Back!"_ A voice that couldn't be anyone else but Hagrid's chastised the dog, and the barking immediately stopped. The door cracked open, and Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared, smiling widely at the two teens; motioning them inside.

_"Huh."_ was his first thought when he got his first look inside the hut. It was larger than what it seemed it would be, probably because there was only one giant room. It was cosy for sure, a roaring fire in the corner, a ridiculously large bed in the other.

The hams and pheasants that were strung above them was a bit questionable though, he mused. Hermione seemed to agree as she wrinkled her nose a little when she noticed the dead birds.

"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who immediately wanted to give Harry a proper welcoming.

"This...is...Hermione." Harry said helplessly between Fang's eager servings and used his sleeve to wipe the drool off when the dog bounced back to its owner.

Hermione stuck her hand out in a proper greeting, "Pleasure to meet you. Harry has told many great things about you."

Hagrid seemed very pleased about this and gently shook her hand that looked minuscule compared to his.

Hagrid poured some tea into their cups and offered them some rock cakes, "Hermione, eh? the teachers had nothin', but good things ter say 'bout yeh during our dinners."

Harry grinned as Hermione smiled shyly and accepted the offered cookies, Hagrid turned his attention towards Harry; missing how Hermione cringed when she took a bite out of the shapeless lump.

"They say tha' yeh two get nothin' but top grades," Hagrid grinned proudly, "How are yeh liking your firs' week at Hogwarts?" he asked, the four-legged stool creaking in protest when Hagrid sat down.

Harry and Hermione, mostly Hermione, delved into a long-winded tale of their first week starting from their boat ride to their Potion lesson with Professor Snape.

"He seemed to _hate_ me," Harry said, confused, "And me," Hermione added with a sad frown.

Hagrid waved their statement away, "Rubbish! Why would he?"

"We don't know," Hermione said, looking thoroughly annoyed at being dismissed, "From the moment we entered his classroom, he continuously criticised us for everything. He even blamed us when Neville had to be sent to the Hospital Wing when his cauldron melted!" she said outraged.

Harry couldn't help but feel like Hagrid was avoiding his eyes under Hermione's tirade, "Wha' else have yeh two bin up ter" he asked, promptly changing the subject.

It was quiet for a minute when Hermione suddenly perked up, "Harry lost five times in a row earlier in Wizard's chess."

Harry groaned and hid his face in his hands, and blindly tried to shove Hermione when she started to laugh.

Hagrid let out a bark of laughter that boomed in the small hut, "Who were yeh playing against?"

"Ron," Harry said, "Ron Weasley," he added when Hagrid didn't recognise the name.

Hagrid's massive beard bobbed up and down as he nodded in understanding, "Another Weasley, eh? I have spent half my life chasin' his twin brothers away from the forest."

Hermione's expression shifted almost immediately at the last bit. It morphed into something that he had learned from personal experience that Hagrid was about to taste a serving of Hermione's relentless questioning.

"So," Hermione said curiously, "What is it within the Forbidden forest that makes it so dangerous? There's hardly anything written about it!"

Harry grinned in his teacup and started to lean back until he realised that the chair missed a backrest, causing him almost to topple over. He flushed with embarrassment and stared intensely ín his cup of tea as if it held all the answers in the world.

After a moment, Hagrid cleared his throat and answered her question, although not the whole truth it seemed. No matter, because Hermione fired off another question right off the bat. Hagrid gave Harry a glance that seemed to ask him, _"Is she always like this?"_

During Hermione's interrogation, Harry noticed a cutting from the _Daily Prophet_ lying on the table. It was an article describing a break-in at Gringotts.

_Didn't Hagrid say it was impossible to break in at Gringotts?_ Harry thought and continued reading, the break-in apparently happened on 31 July, and the vault that was searched had been emptied the same day.

"Hagrid? This break-in at Gringotts..." Harry said slowly, interrupting the interrogation and motioned to the cutting, "It happened on my birthday. Is there a chance that it happened while we were there?"

Both Harry and Hermione looked at Hagrid eagerly, but he didn't meet their eyes and merely grunted an offer for them to take another round of rock cakes, but Harry persisted, "It says that the vault the robber searched, had been emptied on the same day!"

"What do you mean, Harry?" Hermione asked.

Harry turned to Hermione and pointed to the article, "The day the break-in happened, Hagrid and I were there to withdraw some money from my parent's vaults. While there, Hagrid emptied a vault." Realisation dawned in Hermione's eyes, and she added, "That's a bit of a coincidence. What was it they were after, Hagrid?"

Before Harry could say anything else, Hagrid suddenly stood up and rubbed his hands together, "'s gettin' a bit late, aye? maybe 's time fer yeh ter head back." and encouraged them to take the rest of the cakes before ushering them out.

"That was strange," Hermione said, frowning at the closed door to the hut, "He definitely knows something."

They started to walk back, but instead of going to the castle, Hermione steered them towards the lake.

"What was it Hagrid took out from that vault, Harry?" Hermione asked as she inspected one of many shapeless rock cakes they had been too polite to refuse.

Harry rubbed his brow as he tried to recall the events of that day, "It was a grubby little brown package, barely bigger than the palm of my hand."

They were walking in silence along the shoreline of the still lake that reflected the descending sun, "If we assume that Hagrid was the one that emptied the vault," She said as she started to crumble the cookies and toss the bits into the lake, "Then where is the package now? And why were they after it?"

The ducks quacked happily and flocked to the floating crumbs, "I don't know," Harry said dejectedly, it was something with this that was nagging in the back of his head, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Hermione took Harry's remaining cookies and kept throwing pieces of it as they walked along the edge; it was surprisingly warm and very calm and peaceful out here. He certainly wouldn't mind coming out here more often, and perhaps he could coax Hermione to take a walk out here a couple of times a week.

They found an elevated rock with a flat surface with a nice view of the lake, Harry helped her up, and they both sat at the edge; letting their legs dangle freely in the air. The sun was on its way down, colouring the sky into a bubblegum hue that got more prominent as the strength from the sun waned.

"It's nice out here," Hermione said quietly as she watched the sundown, her face being illuminated by the dying sun, giving her bushy hair a divine glow to it.

Harry idly thought back with the argument he had with Ron a few hours earlier, claiming that it had to be annoying to have her around. He smiled when Hermione giggled at the ducks that had followed them, and she threw the last remaining pieces she had and dusted her hands off from the crumbs.

She rested her chin on her clasped hands and watched the ducks with adoration as the birds lightly pushed each other in an attempt to reach the offered food.

There was something warm in his chest as he watched the scene in front of him, something he couldn't describe. He did know one thing for sure, though, Ron was wrong.

He was exactly where he was supposed to be.


End file.
